São Tomé and Príncipe promotes National Training Plan in the Energy Sector

One of the needs of São Tomé and Príncipe, to be able to respond to the current and future challenges of the energy sector, is related to the improvement of the capacities of the technical staff from the institutions involved in the planning and management of the electricity sector and, more specifically, in the energy transition to renewable energies.

In this sense, a training session began on January 25th, which will end in the second week of April, to instruct all the technicians from all institutions linked to the energy sector. This training takes place at the University of São Tomé and Príncipe (USTP), fulfilling the criteria imposed by the Ministry of Health for the COVID-19 pandemic, and counts with the participation of professors from the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), training closely of 200 participants, 40% being women and the remaining men.

This training comes within the scope of the project Promotion of hydroelectric energy in a sustainable and climate-resilient way through an approach that integrates soil and forest management, financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), through the United Nations Development Program(UNDP), led by the Energy Directorate of the General Directorate of Natural Resources and Energy (DGRNE) of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Natural Resources (MIRN), and involving other institutions such as the Water and Electricity Company (EMAE), the General Authority Regulation, the Environment and Economy Secretariats of the Principe Regional Government, the Forestry Directorate and the Agriculture Directorate. The main objective of this project is the creation of a solid institutional and legal structure for the electricity sector and the promotion of an attractive climate for investments in the energy sector.

This project is a contribute to achieve the Nationally Determined Contributions of São Tomé and Príncipe, with the goal to accomplish at least 50% of electricity production from renewable sources by 2030 (currently beginning at 5% of hydro production), a commitment that emerges under the Paris Agreement to combat climate change. This increase in intermittent renewable production, during a short period of ten years, constitutes a technical challenge. On the other hand, the desire to increasingly involve the private sector implies a significant change in the functioning of the energy sector, forcing the adoption of new market rules and the strengthening of regulation, both technical and economic.